Georgia § 53-7-41 - Notice for creditors to render accounts; notification of creditors' claims; requirement of reasonable additional proof or accounting; failure of creditors to give notice of claims.

§ 53-7-41. Notice for creditors to render accounts; notification of creditors' claims; requirement of reasonable additional proof or accounting; failure of creditors to give notice of claims.

The personal representative shall be allowed six months from the date of the qualification of the first personal representative to serve in which to ascertain the condition of the estate. Every personal representative shall, within 60 days from the date of qualification, publish a notice directed generally to all of the creditors of the estate to notify the personal representative of their claims and render an account of their demands for payment thereon. The personal representative's notice shall be published once a week for four weeks in the official newspaper of the county in which the personal representative qualified. No particular form shall be required for creditors to notify the personal representative of their claims, and such notification of a creditor's claim shall be sufficient for purposes of this Code section if given in writing, providing an account number or other identifying information or itemization adequate to establish the indebtedness as an obligation of the estate, and stating the principal balance and any applicable interest or other additional charges lawfully owed. An invoice or account statement satisfying the requirements of the preceding sentence of this subsection and generated by a creditor in the ordinary course of such creditor's business shall constitute sufficient notification to the personal representative of such creditor's claim if the personal representative actually receives such notification of the claim or if such creditor files such notification with the probate court having jurisdiction over the decedent's estate or sends such notification of the claim by electronic transmission, other form of wire or wireless communication, or by first-class mail or private carrier to the address of the decedent, the personal representative, or the attorney representing the personal representative; provided, however, that a notification of a claim sent by a creditor by electronic communication to an account for which the decedent is the user shall constitute sufficient notification to the personal representative of such creditor's claim only if the content of such electronic communication lawfully is disclosed to the personal representative pursuant to Chapter 13 of this title. As used in this subsection, the terms "account", "content of an electronic communication", "electronic communication", and "user" shall have the meaning provided by Code Section 53-13-2. After receiving sufficient notification of a creditor's claim under subsection (b) of this Code section, the personal representative may require reasonable additional proof or accounting from such creditor prior to paying such creditor's claim, but such requirement by the personal representative shall not affect adversely the timeliness of such creditor's notification to the personal representative of the creditor's claims. Creditors who fail to notify the personal representative of their claims in the manner provided by subsection (b) of this Code section within three months from the date of publication of the personal representative's last notice shall lose all rights to an equal participation with creditors of equal priority to whom distribution is made before sufficient notification of such claims is given to the personal representative, and they may not hold the personal representative liable for a misappropriation of the funds. If, however, there are assets in the hands of the personal representative sufficient to pay such debts and if no claims of greater priority are unpaid, the assets shall be thus appropriated notwithstanding failure of such creditors timely to notify the personal representative of their claims. (Code 1981, § 53-7-41 , enacted by Ga. L. 1996, p. 504, § 10; Ga. L. 1998, p. 1586, § 33; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 1-43/HB 865.) The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, rewrote this Code section, which read: "The personal representative shall be allowed six months from the date of the qualification of the first personal representative to serve in which to ascertain the condition of the estate. Every personal representative shall, within 60 days from the date of qualification, publish a notice directed generally to all of the creditors of the estate to render an account of their demands. The notice shall be published once a week for four weeks in the official newspaper of the county in which the personal representative qualified. Creditors who fail to give notice of claims within three months from the date of publication of the personal representative's last notice shall lose all rights to an equal participation with creditors of equal priority to whom distribution is made before notice of such claims is brought to the personal representative, and they may not hold the personal representative liable for a misappropriation of the funds. If, however, there are assets in the hands of the personal representative sufficient to pay such debts and if no claims of greater priority are unpaid, the assets shall be thus appropriated notwithstanding failure to give notice."